In certain computer networks including, for example, the Internet, nodes communicate by way of modulated and demodulated asynchronous or synchronous signals. Those signals may be transmitted and received by, for example, modems, narrow-band communications or broadband communications such as Digital Subscriber Line (“DSL”) transceivers. Those transceivers may furthermore operate under one or more common protocols such as, for example, Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol (“TCP/IP”). Transceivers communicating by way of common protocols may exchange capabilities and select a common mode of operation. Such an exchange of capabilities and a selection of a common mode of operation are sometimes performed by a so-called “handshake.” That handshake may be accomplished by way of a mechanism such as International Telecommunication Union Standard G.994.1 for DSL communication, for example.
After two communicating transceivers reach an agreement on a common working mode, transceivers may enter an activation phase. In the example of asymmetric digital subscriber line (“ADSL”) (G.992.1, G.992.2, G.992.3 and G.992.4 standards, an activation phase may include channel discovery, training, channel analysis, and exchange. During those pre-data mode phases, transceivers may diagnose the channel characteristics, train the systems, analyze the communication channel, and communicate a set of showtime or data mode capability parameters, respectively.